Pages

Thursday, January 31, 2013

When a young, enigmatic woman arrives in post-war Montreal, it is immediately clear that she is not who she claims to be. Her attempt to live out her life as Lily Azerov shatters as she disappears, leaving a new husband and baby daughter, and a host of unanswered questions. Who is she really and what happened to the young woman whose identity she has stolen? Why has she left and where did she go? It is left to the daughter she abandoned to find the answers to these questions as she searches for the mother she may never find or really know.

This is one of those books that makes me wonder what
the publishing companies are really thinking. I’ve read many self-published
titles that are much, much better than this book, so what’s the deal?

The main problem is that the book is so dull. I kept
hoping for it to pick up, for some of the pieces to click together, but it just
droned on, as if the writer had to reach a particular word count. None of the
characters leave any kind of mark in the reader; they are all superficially
written and completely interchangeable. Apart from that, the plot is a
convoluted mess that is never cleared up. There is so much left unanswered, as
if the author just ran out of time and said “screw it, they’ll get it”. Well,
no, we don’t get it. What about the stones that Ruth keeps getting? What is the
symbolism of those? Why did her mother leave her, really? There is just a lot
that we’re supposed to take on faith and it just doesn’t work.

This book needed a major overhaul, a complete
rewrite so that the readers don’t fall asleep halfway through a chapter. I can’t
recommend this one. There’s so many more interesting books out there; try
something else.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Monday, January 28, 2013

The continuous harvest of atmospheric moisture by lunar orbiters foments a plan set in place to destroy the Harvest fleet, but it is derailed by a twist that allows time for development of a technological work-around. Time passes, and the ruling Houses are caught unawares by an invasion intended to wrest control of the Harvest. The interlopers are aided by wizard-like practitioners whose hallucinogen-induced evocations bend the norms of nature to their will. Cairn, heir to Alar, is taken captive and then dispatched to carry the warlord's edict. The Maester Viizar, Gezladorn, has his own agenda, contrary to that of the lunar warlord. The Maester is able to manipulate some of the players through mind-control, pitting them one against the other. Cairn learns of a human-like species that has always kept to itself in the planet's vast cavern system, and he leads a band of men and UnderWorlders on a subterranean journey to rise into the bowels of House Alar. Alliances fall apart and it becomes unclear who is the true enemy before Alar ultimately triumphs.

I don’t usually read many science fiction books,
since I never connect with the characters very much, but when the author of
this new book contacted me and sent me the synopsis, I thought it sounded pretty
good.

Yes, it is a sci-fi book, so there are lots and lots
of characters running around. Not all of them are crucial so if you forget a
few of them, it won’t really impact the rest of your reading experience.
Something that I found very interesting and very well done was the mix of
futuristic elements and Medieval ones. It gave the story more flavor than it
would have otherwise had.

The story is interesting, but sometimes the words
get a bit in the way of the plot. Sometimes the descriptions are too long,
which slows the pacing down. I would have liked to have read a much more
simplified book, so that we could really pay attention and connect with the
main characters.

I didlike
the book, though, so I can recommend it, but take the things I’ve mentioned
into consideration before you begin.

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…• Describe one of your reading habits.• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

I'm reading The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler and having a tough time of it, too. It's just not very interesting. Half the time, I wish the author would just get to the point of what she's trying to achieve with a particular scene or dialogue. I'm looking froward to finishing this one and moving on to something more exciting.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

What would you do if you found out your girlfriend laid an egg every time she had sex? Who would you be if you were invited to a party in Beijing but had to make up a brand-new identity for six weeks? Peter Tieryas Liu's Watering Heaven is a travelogue of and requiem for the American dream in all its bizarre manifestations and a surreal, fantastic journey through the streets, alleys, and airports of China. Whether it's a monk who uses acupuncture needles to help him fly or a city filled with rats about to be exterminated so that the mayor can win his reelection bid, be prepared to laugh, swoon, and shudder at the answers Liu offers in this provocative debut collection.

For me, short story collections are tricky things to
put together in a way that will attract most readers. I was happy to discover,
however, that this collection is pretty easy to slide into. It has nice
cohesiveness, so it doesn’t feel as stilted as some others do. The reader could
easily recognize the themes of alienation, loneliness, and self-discovery
spread throughout the stories.

At first, from the synopsis, I thought I’d be
jumping into magical realism, and, in a way, I was, but it doesn’t overwhelm
the reader or make things less believable. Since all the stories are grounded
in human emotion, we immediately identify with that and not with some of the
quirkier elements. My favorites in the collection were “Cold Fusion” and “A
Wolf’s Choice.” Both of these completely captured me and made me wish they were
a tad bit longer so we could get more of what’s happening, especially in “Cold
Fusion.”

The writing is lovely, with many wonderful moments
and sentences that will strike you. I do recommend this book. It is a
refreshing read, introspective read.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…• Describe one of your reading habits.• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.Right now, I'm reading I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. It's very good, so far, a great story about twins and the love they have for one another despite one of the brother's schizophrenia. Wonderfully written.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

What books do you like to read when it’s snowy and white? What books do you read to evoke a real feeling of winter (good or bad)?

Well, since I live in Miami, Florida, there's no such thing as snowy and white winters here. If we're lucky, we'll get a few days of temperatures around the 50s. This year, I think we got only two or three days of actual cold, which is really horrible for someone like me, who thrives in the cold. When it is cold outside, though, I do like to read scary books, Stephen King in particular. I just love my house's coziness and a good fright.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The extraordinary memoir of a mother's love, commitment, and nurturing, which allowed her son, originally diagnosed with autism, to flourish into a universally recognized genius-and how any parent can help their child find their spark.

Today, at thirteen, Jacob is working on extending Einstein's theory of relativity, and is a paid researcher in quantum physics. Yet at three, after an autism diagnosis, Jacob was assigned to life-skills classes, his parents told to adjust their expectations. The goalpost was to be tying his own shoes at sixteen. Kristine's belief in the power of hope and the dazzling possibilities that can occur when we keep our minds open and learn to fuel a child's true potential changed everything.

This was a lovely, inspirational memoir about a
mother fighting to get her autistic son to open up and to learn to enjoy his
life. It is a deeply moving story that I think every parent should read.

The author’s honesty throughout the book is what
makes it really stand out. She holds nothing back , not her fears at hearing
the autism diagnosis or her misgivings about the special programs the schools
and doctors tried to force her son to take. I can imagine, for parents who are
dealing with an autistic child, hearing her words of encouragement and seeing
how she managed to save her son from being swallowed up completely by the
disease could be life-saving.

It’s such a fascinating book that I read it in a
matter of two or three days, completely taken over by Jake and by his whole
family’s goal to help him become someone beyond the mental limits forced on him
by the school system’s and autism.

A wonderful book. I highly recommend it for all
parents, not only those with special needs children. We can all learn so much
from the way this mother helped her child.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…• Describe one of your reading habits.• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.Right now, I'm reading The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett. It's a fascinating memoir about a mother's journey to help her child live with autism. A really moving and ispirational book.